Coach CornerEquipmentrecovery-rubber-choice
Dipak1974 asked 4 years ago

 Hi Guys
Have a query regarding recovery and my potential change of FH rubber.  I currently use Tenergy 05 on FH and T05FX on BH.  During matches in local league i seem to be fine as im getting a lot of winners and i am at 90% win ratio. Problem is during training drills because of ball shooting off rubber quick it is coming back quick from and im not always in optimum position.  In a way I do think a slightly slower controlle rubber would help give me more time to recover?
 &am

7 Answers
Dipak1974 answered 4 years ago

I did try Tenergy 05FX on FH yesterday and it felt more controlled which helps recovery but I dont think it is as penetrating to win outright points. At  moment in league im in im not worried as winning comfortably but next season will go up and will play much better players blocking and countering which will make my training drill problems at moment more realistic.  Ideally something mayb more penatrating than T05fx and something tad slower and more controlled than T05 would be perfect.
A thought did go to maybe trying Dignics80 on FH?  I have previously tried Dignics 05 but found it to be difficult to use and generate great spin and speed unless the stroke is perfect.  Its the reason I went to T05Fx on backhand as i find it effortless to use. 
Your help will be greatly appreciated.

TomTom Academy Coach answered 4 years ago

Hi Dipak,

I personally would suggest staying with your current setup as by the sounds of it you like the feeling and are generally happy with it. From what you’ve said its just the recovery from a fast shot and being ready as the rubbers are quick. So I would do a lot more drills on this in training and really focus on keeping relaxed, short and compact shots and improving recovery.

This way you can keep the 05 on the forehand and get the penetrative shots that you mentioned and also the easy to use 05fx on backhand. To me I would say this setup is good and you should just focus on being comfortable with it even when playing strong and the ball coming back fast.

A few good tips for this are keep the bat higher than you think you need which allows you to be over the ball, focus on hitting over the top of the ball and being relaxed on the contact and using the speed already on the ball.

Also having a fairly relaxed grip will help with these shots and also recovery, practice recovering quickly after a strong ball and being able to control the next few shots and in time it will improve.

Also work on better placement of your strong shots for example into the body or crossover so it is more difficult for better opponents in the higher league when you move up to block back easily.

Let us know how you are getting on!

Dipak1974
replied 4 years ago

Thanku Tom for reply. I did have word with guys at my club and I’m not going to change and will just work on things u said. I’m only struggling at times during training drills and my partner knows where my shots are going. When I play him in games it’s different and I’m not so easily blocked as my placements are different compared to drills. I also at times get into habit of playing shots to either wing and being predictable so easily blocked but like you said if I aim at elbow or body it’s completely different. I think I panicked this week during a training session and also over shot my FH but I think most was due to not being in correct position rather than rubber being too fast.

Out of curiousity can you give feedback on Dignics 80 in comparison to Tenergy 05 just for my info for maybe future reference.

How does it compare to T05 in terms of speed, spin, control, blocking, touches, serves, in what respect is it better or worse than T05. This info would be perfect t plse. I have watched the Dignics80 review but it was compared more against Dignics 05.

Dipak1974 answered 4 years ago

Anything to my query? 

Dipak1974 answered 4 years ago

Anything to my query? 

TomTom Academy Coach answered 4 years ago

Hi Dipak, yes i totally understand what you are saying here, stick with it and just keep working on those areas and shots that make a difference.

Ok so dignics 80 is a great rubber,in comparison to tenergy 05 it is slightly slower and of course a harder sponge. It has more grip and control in my opinion and I feel is more suitable for a backhand rubber,however both sides it is capable of a lot of spin quality and high control compared to its speed. Its definitely less springy than tenergy and may even feel like more effort to generate power.

Hope this helps!

Dipak1974 answered 4 years ago

Brilliant Thanku Tom. Very helpful. I had a good training session and played very well in matches so there’s no need for me to change just to work on recovery and my coach said to play more aggressively and back myself which I did in a session yesterday and made big difference. 

thank you for your reply and help. 

TomTom Academy Coach answered 4 years ago

No problem at all, thats great to hear and it sounds like you are focusing on the right areas for sure. Keeo up the good work and practice!

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